Rouhani visits expo displaying Iran air defense achievements

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has paid a visit to a Defense Ministry exhibition showcasing the latest achievements in the air defense industry, including the domestically-built Bavar-373 air defense system.

On the occasion of National Defense Industry Day, Rouhani, accompanied by Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan, visited the exhibition at the Iran Aviation Industries Organization (IAIO) on Sunday.

During the event, the organization’s latest achievements in air defense technology, including fighter and transport aircraft, helicopters as well as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were put on display.

The president was also briefed on the progress in the designing and manufacturing of the first national Turbojet engine.

The Iranian chief executive further visited different sectors involved in the production of the long-range Bavar-373 air defense system, which has been designed and constructed by Defense Ministry scientists and experts with the cooperation of the Khatam al-Anbia Air Defense Base as well as scientific and investigative centers.

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani visits an exhibition of the Defense Ministry’s aerial capabilities in Tehran on August 21, 2016. (Photo by IRNA)

Bavar-373, which was successfully test-fired in August 2014, is similar to the Russian S-300. The air defense system is capable of hitting targets at a high altitude.

In recent years, Iran has made major breakthroughs in its defense sector and attained self-sufficiency in producing important military equipment and systems.

Iran has also conducted other major military drills to enhance the defense capabilities of its armed forces and to test modern military tactics and state-of-the-art army equipment.

The Islamic Republic maintains that its military might poses no threat to other countries, stating that its defense doctrine is merely based on deterrence.

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani looks at the first national Turbojet engine during a visit to an exhibition of the Defense Ministry’s aerial capabilities in Tehran on August 21, 2016. (Photo by IRNA)

Defense Ministry helped closure of ‘PMD’ case

Delivering a speech at the event, Rouhani hailed the Defense Ministry for making “highly effective” and “precious” efforts in the lead-up to last year’s nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries , known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

For more than a decade, certain parties were accusing Iran of covertly seeking to build weapons of mass destruction, but the enemies’ allegations “were proven unfair and baseless,” Rouhani stated.

He said the Defense Ministry greatly contributed to the settlement of the so-called Possible Military Dimensions (PMD) of Iran’s nuclear program at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Last December, the IAEA Board of Governors overwhelmingly adopted a resolution, bringing an end to a 12-year investigation into what it called past and present outstanding issues regarding Iran’s nuclear program.

Rouhani further described the closure of the so-called PMD case as “a legal, technical and moral victory for Iran, in which the Defense Ministry employed all its technical, legal and political capabilities.”

“We proved that our enemies are lying and we are telling the truth,” the Iranian president noted.